Rotten Apples and Coyotes
by generalquistis
Summary: Dreaming is a luxury for those who have all the time in the world. Nightmares are for those who haven't dreamed in a long time... like Near.


Rotten Apples and Coyotes

By generalquistis

**Author's note:** Brain fart at its finest, yet again! I'm trying to practice writing vivid descriptions while minimizing dialogue-- an element that I've noticed that is very common in majority of my fictional works. I don't know if I succeeded, though, but hey, I've tried my best. Anyway, this was initially published in my story LJ. I just thought I'd spread the disease here. So without further ado…

oOoOo

The air was a little damp. It was almost impossible to navigate through the thick fog that he can see ahead of him. Still, he proceeded to walk into that unknown forest. It scared him to venture off into unfamiliar territory such as that dark forest but he knew he had to go there. The reason? He was not sure.

He just had a persistent feeling that he had to.

As soon as he reached the forest, he heard coyotes howling from a distance. The howling startled him but it actually made him smile in excitement. The reason? He was not sure.

He just had a strange feeling that the sound of coyotes howling was something good.

As he kept on walking, he saw a bright yellow-orange light at the end of the dark path. The fog was slowly clearing up and he hurried on towards the light. He knew he had to go there not because he was curious on what was there or what that light really was, but because something was urging him to go there.

Finally, he reached the end of the path to where the yellow-orange light was. It turned out to be a big fire consuming a large house that was very familiar to him. It was the house that he had referred to as his home. It was the home that housed almost all his favorable childhood memories.

Hearing the cries of children coming from inside the house made him feel more afraid.  
He wanted to rush inside the house but the high walls and the tall gate surrounding it were preventing him from coming a step closer. Besides, the fire has spread too far already that tongues of flames were already trying to reach out to him even if he was standing 15 feet away from the gate.

He was able to make out a figure in one of the second floor windows. It was a dark figure that stood there, unmoving. He could see that figure's eyes staring down at him. Those eyes were large and dark, too.

He wanted to run away but he could not move. He also wanted to scream but he could not. Something was muffling his mouth and when he realized that something was inside his mouth, he instantly grabbed it stared horridly at it.

A rotten apple with worms.

He threw it away at the fire and decided to turn away, but he realized that the forest behind him was gone. It transformed into a big warehouse--a warehouse that was very familiar to him.

It was the warehouse that served as the place where one of the biggest cases he took care of in the ended.

Standing in that big warehouse alone was disturbing for him but he still had a calm look on his face as he looked up at the very high ceilings above him. He could hear something dripping from somewhere--probably water. Still, he had no intention to find out what it was.

He turned around to look back at the house but he realized that entire space he was confined it was the warehouse already. He stood still, refusing to move again until he heard someone saying his name from one corner.

It was a tall man with light brown hair and he was carrying a large scythe. The man was smiling rather evilly at him but it did not scare him. "You're dead!" he pointed out to the man.  
The man just stood there, smiling and staring at him in a mocking manner.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded.

The man did not answer.

"Light Yagami." he said.

The man's smile faded and he watched his mouth contort, letting out a strong, agonizing, yet silent scream.

There was no sound but he still covered his ears in an effort to block out any deafening sound that may come his way from the man with the scythe.

And then he closed his eyes.

He could hear coyotes howling again but he refused to open his eyes to try to find them. The howling was closer this time and it scared him more.

"Nate."

It was as if the wind whispered his name. The sound was very comforting for him and it reminded him of a time long-gone and almost forgotten. "Mommy?" was the word that came out of his lips, but when he turned around, there was no one there but the dark and foggy forest again.

The air had turned heavy and damp and he turned around to locate the man with the scythe but he was not there anymore.

"Near."

There it was again. But this time, it sounded like a hiss. He turned around to see who it was but he was only able to make out a tall and dark figure lunging at him.

oOoOo

And he opened his eyes, gasping in the process. Did he just experience a nightmare? He could remember other children from the House waking up screaming and crying, seemingly terrified of something. He never understood why those things could happen to those children and he wondered what kind of psychological stress a person would need in order to experience nightmares.

Or maybe he has had nightmares before but did not consider them as such. He was not sure.

He looked at the clock at it read 3:00am. The first person he remembered was Mello and one of the superstitions he used to spread around the household: When you suddenly wake up at 3 in the morning, it means that the devil is calling for you.

"Stupid Mello." he mumbled before shifting to the other side. A chill ran down his spine when he saw a dark figure standing in the corner. He froze and he swallowed hard, not knowing what to do, what to say, what to scream, or who to call for.

The dark figure had his back to him and he could not figure out whether it was a man or a woman. Upon recalling his nightmare, he searched for any traces of a scythe that the figure could be holding but found none. That gave him relief for a few moments until he realized that the dark figure slowly began to turn around to face him. Much to his horror, although he could not scream, the entity had no face. Instead, the area where the face should be resembled the insides of a rotten apple while maggots infested it.

oOoOo

And he opened his eyes, letting out a sharp gasp.

It surprised the 3 adults surrounding him in the place where he had fallen asleep: the floor.

"Near?" asked a woman's voice. A woman crouched down on the floor to check on the boy who had drifted off to sleep a couple of hours ago. "You must be very tired. I think we should take you back to your room." she said.

Near remained lying on the ground with his eyes wide before shifting his gaze over to the woman. "Halle?" he inquired, but he was surprised to see that it was not Halle. Instead, it was another blonde woman with shoulder-length blonde hair and blue eyes dressed in an expensive designer suit. He felt her hand holding his hand. What struck him was the fact that she was cold. He thought he was holding an icicle.

He looked up at the 2 other adults surrounding him and looking down at him. They were not Gevanni and Lester. Instead, he saw a man with blonde hair wearing an white pinstripe suit, and then recognized the other adult as L.

But he could not move nor speak. Something was paralyzing him.

"Near, are you okay?" asked the woman.

L bent down and inspected Near's face. "Wedy, I think there's something in his mouth. Would you mind removing it?"

The other man crouched down, forcing Near's mouth open while the woman called Wedy reached inside his mouth to pull out something.

It was a rotten apple with maggots crawling all over it.

"Ew." she said in disgust.

"Throw it away!" the man said.

L smiled in an amused manner as he tilted his head to the side. Near heard a soft chuckle escaping from him. "Now what's a rotten apple doing in your mouth, kid?" he asked.

Near could feel tears forming in his eyes--something that he could not remember happening anymore ever since the first time he arrived in Wammy's House. He wanted to say something but he could not create an effort to make a single sound. However, when he finally did so, the word that came out of his mouth was, "Mommy?"

"Aw, he's like a sweet baby. Can we keep him?" Wedy asked, looking up at L.

"I don't think so. We need to go now." L said.

"Yeah. He has a lot more things to do." the man said before looking down at him again. "Now don't go chasing coyotes and eating rotten apples anymore, okay?"

oOoOo

Near opened his eyes but he refused to move. He was not sure why but he was smiling. He looked at the clock sitting on the table by his bed and it read 6:00am. He recalled about one of Mello's superstitions again: that if you suddenly wake up at 6:00am for no apparent reason, it means that the devil is calling for you. But Mello is dead so it shouldn't bother him anymore.

Near could hear the sound of coyotes howling from a distance and he immediately opened his mouth, inserted his fingers inside, and tried to feel for anything strange in it.

No rotten apples, worms, or maggots.

He sighed in relief before deciding to sit up to look around. It had been 5 months since he closed the Kira case but he isn't back at Wammy's House yet. Instead, he found himself in a big hotel room surrounded by SPK members who were asleep in their respective stations. Near recalled his last dream and slowly, he got up and walked over to Gevanni who was seated by the window with his laptop to check if he was not L, then to Lester stationed by the dresser to see if he was not that man in the pinstripe suit, and finally to Halle to verify if she isn't the woman named Wedy.

Only then was he able to reassure that he wasn't dreaming anymore. His smile widened and he looked up at the ceiling while thinking to himself what a great adventure he has had in his slumber, realizing that he hasn't slept that well ever since he started investigating the Kira case.

Although he was not sure whether those dreams were nice or what they symbolized, he felt happy but sad at the same time.

From a distance, he could hear coyotes howling as he went back to bed, thinking about the things he had encountered in his dream...and his mother whose face he could not make out anymore.

oOoOo

-end-

Author's Note: The man in the pinstripe suit is Aiber. I just didn't bother naming him anymore, so sorry to the Aiber lovers (yes, I know there are plenty out you out there!)


End file.
